Alexander Zverev's chances of becoming number 1 increase after Jannik Sinner's rejection

Alexander Zverev's chances of soon becoming number 1 in the world tennis rankings continue to increase. The currently leading Italian Jannik Sinner has now announced that he will not be taking part in the Masters tournament in Shanghai from October 7th to 18th.

“I always really enjoyed playing in front of the fans in Shanghai and I'm really sorry I can't be there next week,” Sinner wrote on Instagram. The 25-year-old is also missing in Beijing, where Zverev reached the quarter-finals on Saturday. He has to take a break due to knee problems.

Zverev would be only the second German after Boris Becker on the tennis throne among men. Becker was number one in the world for a total of twelve weeks in 1991. For the three-time Wimbledon winner, it is only “a matter of time before Zverev becomes number one,” as he noted on “sporteurope.tv” during the US Open.

Zverev recently celebrated his second Grand Slam victory with his triumph at the US Open. At the beginning of February after the Australian Open, Zverev was more than 9,000 points behind the then leader Carlos Alcaraz and almost 5,700 behind second-placed Sinner. If Zverev wins in Beijing and Shanghai, he would be the new number one in the world and would have fulfilled his lifelong dream.

Zverev presented himself confidently in Beijing. The two-time Grand Slam tournament winner defeated China's Juncheng Shang 6:0, 6:3. He will now meet Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic from Serbia in the Chinese capital. Zverev converted his second match point with an ace after just 55 minutes.

Zverev had no trouble against the world number 250 and showed an almost flawless performance. The Chinese took advantage of a treatment break after losing the first set, but held on until the end. Meanwhile, Zverev was conserving his energy for the clash with Djokovic. The 39-year-old had more trouble on Friday. After almost three hours of play, he beat Chinese qualifier Bu 4:6, 7:6 (2), 6:2.

This means Djokovic remains undefeated in Beijing. He has won the event six times so far and has been successful every time he has taken part, most recently in 2015. Zverev now wants to ensure that Djokovic suffers his first defeat in his 32nd game in Beijing.

"It went pretty smoothly for me today. I hope it continues like this for me," said Zverev after the game and added, referring to Djokovic: "I have a difficult opponent waiting for me tomorrow. Novak has never lost here and loves the court. But I'm ready."